


To You and Your Kin

by jezebel



Series: To Live and Love Again [4]
Category: Highlander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-11
Updated: 2010-12-11
Packaged: 2017-10-13 15:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/138694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jezebel/pseuds/jezebel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How will Emily cope with being an immortal? The girl who taught Richie to live and love again is moving on, but how will Methos cope with her leaving?</p>
            </blockquote>





	To You and Your Kin

\-----------------------------------------------------------  
"why, then the world's mine oyster,  
Which I with sword will open."  
Shakespeare  
________________________________________

Seacouver December 18th 2014.

The newest researcher on the Methos project sighed as she stared at  
yet another parchment scroll with some obscure reference to  
Methuselah, the world's oldest man. Emily had been in the job three  
weeks and was already bored by the repetitiveness of her new career  
choice. Since sitting the equivalency exam which meant she had  
effectively finished high school Emily had been tied up in meeting  
after meeting about how immortals interacted and what a fight was  
really like. The other watchers at Seacouver state HQ knew that she  
had been brought up amongst immortals and were interested in her  
life more than anyone would have thought healthy. Emily feigned  
ignorance throughout and instead painted herself as quiet and  
studious, trying hard to keep herself to herself. The only comfort  
that Emily found in her job was that she was able to spend time  
finding out more about the elusive Methos. There were many  
references that appeared to be out of place and Emily soon spotted  
them as obfuscations added in the time of Adam Pierson. Once Emily  
noticed how these were placed she began her own additions careful  
not to let anyone notice the alterations.

"Emily, It's after midnight. Do you ever go home?" Sebastian asked  
his newest recruit to the fold. Emily's face fell as she thought of  
home and the family she had left behind to sort out things in her  
head.

"Seb, I think I might just do that." Emily said wistfully. "There  
are a few references in the New York editions that I wanted to look  
up. My Dad always said that it was my home."

"I'll book you on to the next flight. Look after yourself." Bastian  
said as he realised that the best linguist on his team since the  
infamous Adam Pierson was leaving and not coming back.

"Watch your head Sebastian." Emily called out as she made to leave.  
Bastian was so tied up in his thoughts about Emily, that he did not  
realise that she had taken the book she had been reading out of the  
library. When the inventory was done the following month they would  
find it was just one of many that Emily had retrieved in her few  
weeks as a watcher.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------  
\---

Amanda sighed as she looked over yet another application for a  
barman at Joe's. Methos had disappeared shortly after Emily and  
left her to run the chain of clubs with a small amount of help from  
Richie. The police could do little to help them find the wayward  
immortal, she was 18 and therefore capable of looking after herself,  
her financial independence made her an even lower risk case for  
needing help, they said. Joe was in the bar most days too but  
since Emily's death and rebirth he had spent most of the time either  
playing the blues or drinking himself into a stupor. MacLeod too  
was wallowing in a haze of his famous Scottish guilt and it was left  
to the thief to keep a shred of sanity to prevent the complete break  
up of their family.

Richie was the worst off out of the group. He felt that Emily was  
his responsibility and the fact that she had died so young was, in  
Richie's mind, completely his fault. Amanda had finally persuaded  
him to go back to the office to finish the work that he had started  
tying up Joe's affairs. She knew Richie's thoughts were always on  
Emily and how he had failed her, in much the same way that he saw  
MacLeod had failed him. Amanda knew because she felt much the same,  
there were few female immortals as it was and it was the job of  
those who had survived to try to help the new ones, in allowing  
Emily to die so young she felt as if the promise she had made to  
Rebecca all those years ago was broken.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

JFK JR Airport, New York December 20 2014.

Methos stepped off the plane and sighed with relief. He would soon  
be reunited with his sword and finally feel a little more relaxed.  
The last three weeks had been spent asking himself where Emily would  
go and following leads so he could find his missing friend. There  
were rumours that a new immortal had been spotted in three or four  
prime locations but Methos knew this was a ruse to put the other  
immortals off her scent. He knew this because he had been the one  
to teach Emily how to escape and leave no trace. Emily knew to hide  
in the most obvious place as she knew that most people never looked  
there. If she was not in Seacouver or Warrington then New York was  
the next most obvious place for her to hide.

The world's oldest immortal had done a check on the other immortals  
in the area too. Connor MacLeod was the city's most prominent  
everlasting resident, but was less likely to take a head than the  
two other immortals in town. Randolf Scott and Jonathan Lee had  
fought side by side for three hundred years and were known to cheat  
by fighting in pairs, Emily knew that she was good but even she  
could not face two strong hunters at once.

Finding his way to the baggage department and retrieving his sword  
was the first step in finding his Emily. ***MY Emily??? When did  
she become mine?*** Methos asked his troubled subconscious as  
thoughts returned to the new immortal.

[You're third wife was only 14, and the twelfth...]

[Times are different *now*. You just can't admit it to yourself...]

[Yes, that and that you are unwilling to do anything as you are  
scared of getting hurt. Why else would you bother to get involved  
in her life?]

 __

The realisation hit Methos like a freight train. He was in love  
with Emily and what had started as a quest to save a friend had  
become a crusade for a loved one.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily made her way through the streets of the city that had been her  
home for so long and headed to the house that she had avoided for  
over ten years. Her Father and Mother had both died in this place  
and now she wondered whether, if she had not been at the gym that  
day, she would have died there too. The house no doubt had some  
other family in it now, Emily did not really care about them, she  
had her own memories of the house, her home. She had come to say  
goodbye to her past and to learn how to embrace her future. That  
meant not only burying the ghosts left by the death of John but also  
by exacting revenge on his killer, an unknown hunter who was  
reported to be working in the area.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

December 23rd 2014 New York

Methos woke early to resume his search for Emily. The previous two  
days had ended up as a fruitless wild goose chase with two watchers  
and two immortal hunters all who had spent the day shopping for  
Christmas. Methos was too old to celebrate any specific religious  
festival and was more aware of the pagan solstice than of the  
Christian holiday. There were few places left that Methos could  
think to look for Emily, she was not being hunted by Scott and Lee  
and to the best of his knowledge she had no watcher on her tail  
either. There was only her old house and the elder MacLeod left in  
the area to check out and both seemed like long shots. ***Still,  
one of the many things I love about her is her unpredictable  
nature*** Methos thought to himself. The ancient did not know when  
his feelings for the young immortal had changed, but over the last  
two days he had spent a lot of time reconciling his feelings for her  
and had come to a simple conclusion, life without Emily was as bleak  
as life without MacLeod had been, whether she was just a friend or  
more than that, he was used to her in his life and to have that  
taken away from him made the future a little darker and survival a  
little less appealing. When he had discovered that he needed her  
Methos had realised his only chance was to find Emily and tell her  
she was needed.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily wandered aimlessly around the streets of the city so great  
they named it twice. A town which was home and yet she had only  
returned a few days before. For an immortal less than a month old  
there were too many problems ahead. Emily's train of thought was  
slowed by a familiar buzz, assuming that one of the family had  
caught up with her and was trying test her, she drew her sword. It  
was an early morning and the deserted streets made the confrontation  
less obvious but Emily led the suitor, who was still out of sight,  
into an alley.

"Well, Well, a young pup." Said the immortal with the unfamiliar  
accent. "You would draw a sword on a stranger, either head hunting  
or stupid." He commented. "A name if you will."

"Emily Reed" She said with a slight bow not lowering her sword or  
breaking from the fighting stance that Methos had taught her. Emily  
was still using the pseudonym from her days with Richie in case she  
met any of her old friends.

"Well Miss Reed, I am Rupert Nash, pleased to make your  
acquaintance, albeit a short one." He said. Emily's mind flicked  
into overdrive, *Nash* the name was memorable, but why? Then it  
struck her.

"Perhaps I ought to bow to pressure, I would not want to face one so  
strong." she said. The other immortal was confused by this but  
assumed it was an avoidance tactic.

"Oh, no. You see I'll enjoy teaching you this lesson." He said the  
hint of anger clearly audible in his voice.

Emily knew that a seasoned immortal would not make the first move so  
she did, a thrust to make her appear weak, this was easily blocked  
by her opponent but she was one step ahead of him when he advanced.  
Each time he attacked Emily defended, it was as if she knew how he  
fought. They circled for nearly half an hour before the other  
slipped, Emily easily disarmed him and Nash fell to his knees, a  
look of fear crossing his face.

"A lesson in humility?" Emily asked as she held his own sword at his  
throat. "Or a lesson in how to lose a fight." She asked the  
sarcasm clear in her voice. "Never underestimate your opponent and  
never show emotion. You let your anger get the better of you  
MacLeod and that was your downfall." Emily said. Connor was  
shocked. ***How could she know unless...***

"Give a dying man a last request. Who was your teacher? How old are  
you?" Connor expected her to be trained by the Kurgan, she had been  
nearly as hard to beat.

"They are many and time is short." Emily said. "I had hoped that  
the older they were the better the vintage, someone told me that,  
seems they were wrong." She said. Recognition flickered across his  
face. "Richie always said you'd be tough." Emily said. "Duncan was  
just as flattering, still they rarely see you on your knees. Merry  
Christmas MacLeod." She said throwing his sword at his feet. With  
that she was gone.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Connor MacLeod was angry and humiliated. To pick a fight in broad  
daylight was one thing, not to finish it and to taunt another of  
their kind was quite another. The girl who had challenged him not  
only knew his identity but had known both Ryan and his kinsman  
Duncan. His biggest fear was that the fact that his kinsman had  
been missing so long meant that he had lost his head to this girl  
and with it all of the power that he held within him. The elder  
MacLeod would do his best to track down this reprobate and when he  
did he would get his revenge, both for himself and for Duncan.  
Connor brushed himself down and made his way back to the apartment  
that he was currently using as a home. It was basic but just what  
he needed as a base for his immortal life. MacLeods were high  
bounty immortals and Connor had realised a few centuries before that  
it was safe to move often and never settle, New York and Scotland  
may feel like home, but to get attached to one property or even area  
was expensive. It could cost him his head.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily was running on a mixture of adrenaline and fear as she made  
her way back to the rented apartment where she was staying. Connor  
MacLeod was one of the best swordsmen alive and she had faced him.  
Not only faced him but humiliated him with her own skills. It had  
been a closely fought battle but Emily had won. The fear was that  
Connor may follow her and the next time Emily was scared she might  
not be so lucky. It had been foolish to fight a seasoned immortal  
but the rush had been worth it, even if Methos would disapprove.  
Her thoughts returned to the oldest immortal regularly, he had not  
answered any of her calls and she had missed him when she was around  
watcher headquarters where Piers Adams was still a regular face  
translating the non-classified information. Methos was Emily's soul  
mate, the only member of the immortal family who was there just for  
her. Amanda and Richie both needed contact and appreciation from  
other people but Methos had taught her how to be truly independent.  
The world's oldest immortal was quite capable of surviving centuries  
on his own, and yet had stuck around for Emily. That alone made her  
feel special. Emily had resigned herself to the fact that Methos  
was off on his own again, it just hurt her to know that he would  
never reciprocate her love for him. ***He probably didn't give me a  
second thought*** She mused as she settled in to the cold bed in her  
slum of an apartment. It was in the worst part of town and if it  
had been in any other city the building would have been condemned,  
but being inconspicuous meant living within her means and as an  
eternal teenager this was all she could afford.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

December 24th 2014 Seacouver

Richie stared at the bottom of his glass and sighed. One of the  
down sides of being immortal is it takes a lot more alcohol to get  
drunk, and staying that way is even harder. Since Emily had left,  
most of Richie's time had been spent in a deep funk over what he had  
done to drive her away, he had thrown himself into his work but even  
that did not help. MacLeod was useless when he went in to a brood  
and Richie only resented him more for the fact that he had let Emily  
go on the day that she disappeared. At least Methos had left the  
family alone, there was no blame on the old man, after all Methos  
didn't care for anyone and had not, at his own admission, felt guilt  
since the twelfth century. No the family had been fine until  
MacLeod showed up and now events were turning sour, ***It always  
leads back to MacLeod.***

Richie stared at the gifts that lay under the tree in their rented  
house. Five wrapped gifts that would still be there unopened  
tomorrow, five tokens of love that Emily would not receive. There  
was a long leather coat from Amanda, complete with sixth dimensional  
sword pocket, a laptop and mobile modem from Methos and Joe and even  
a small token of friendship from MacLeod in a long thin box which  
suggested a sword. Richie had found his gift to Emily in his the  
belongings he had left at the dojo, a pocket knife that had kept him  
safe on the streets for so long and the necklace that was all he had  
left of Emily Ryan, the things that meant the world to him growing  
up he was now passing on to the person who had made material things  
superfluous. ***Now she'll never get them*** he thought morbidly.  
Richie refilled his glass with the dark bourbon that he favoured and  
resided himself to another Christmas spent alone.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Methos flicked the channel for the third time in half an hour,  
Miracle on 34th street was playing on no less than five channels and  
various versions of a Christmas carol and It's a wonderful life,  
played on most of the others. The time of peace on earth and  
goodwill toward all men was one that Methos had always viewed with  
his unique brand of guarded cynicism. An old friend had once asked  
if he knew Dickens when he was creating Scrooge and had not been  
surprised that the answer was yes. Christmas was a time for the  
young and a time for family, Methos had neither youth or a family to  
be with and that only added to his usual unease about the season.  
Emily was his reason for being in New York and so far she had  
escaped his every attempt to find her. Even the usual watcher lines  
had reported no new immortals in the area, at least this meant Emily  
was not only avoiding Methos but all people immortal. Methos stared  
out of his hotel window at the dull day that reflected his mood. A  
walk would clear his head, and maybe he would get lucky and meet  
Emily on the street.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Connor MacLeod was in lurking mode. He had been hunting since early  
that morning, looking into all avenues of enquiry that were open to  
him. The raven haired immortal was not wanted by the police and  
there were no other people in town that Connor knew of who were  
after her. That left good old-fashioned tracking skills and common  
sense to find the girl who had fought so well. The buzz was  
unexpected as the elder MacLeod was used to finding his opponents  
rather than the other way around. The bad weather meant that the  
streets were quiet and it was easy to spot the regal looking man  
with cropped black hair from a distance. Connor was surprised that  
there were two new immortals in town and was old enough not to  
believe in luck or coincidence. That meant that this immortal knew  
where the girl was or more likely that he was hunting her himself.

"Rupert Nash" Connor said as he nodded recognition to his opponent.  
"I'm hunting a female immortal thought maybe you'd know something  
about it."

"What if I do? What did she do anyway?" The other immortal asked  
defiantly.

"I believe she killed one of my students, which is never a bright  
thing to do." The Highlander answered menacingly, his thoughts were  
of his kinsman Duncan and how he would be missed if Connor's  
suspicions were true.

"That's quite an accusation. Maybe you ought to find some proof  
first. Don't go losing your head before you are sure." Methos said  
edging away from Connor, before turning to flee. Connor was in no  
mood to pursue the mysterious immortal, he would deal with him if it  
was necessary but for now he was focused on the girl who had  
humiliated him.

\----------------------------------------------------------

***Damn you Emily*** Methos thought as he slowly made his way back  
to his hotel room, ***What have you gotten yourself in to this  
time?*** The rain had let up a bit and the streets were filling  
with people making merry in the early evening Christmas festivities.  
Methos was unaware of the eyes that watched him as he moved through  
the streets, a shadow that remained just out of contact was  
watching him. Methos, completely oblivious to his suitor, made his  
way back to his rented room and his lone Ebenezer-style musings.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Emily watched carefully as she saw the immortal enter the building.  
She had known that there was someone following her but so far she  
had evaded capture, she had hoped that she would have more time but  
it seemed the other immortal was getting too close. ***Time to go  
to Methos*** Emily thought as Randolf Scott made his way through the  
few things that were left in her apartment. Emily hoped that Methos  
was in a better mood than the head hunter who had just finished  
demolishing her room.

\------------------------------------------------------  
Methos had not been expecting anyone to visit so when the call from  
reception to say that there was a package waiting for him Methos was  
suspicious. The ancient immortal cautiously studied the lobby and  
only made his way over to the desk when he was certain that no other  
immortals were around. The package itself was less of a mystery,  
three books written in archaic languages, each a little over 400  
years old. ***My journals?*** Methos questioned until he saw a  
loose leaf fall from one of the books.

M,  
You have saved my life on more  
than one occasion, the least I  
could do is help you save a little  
of yours. Merry Christmas,  
Love  
Emily.

Methos had lost the set of three books just over twenty years ago  
when he had been forced to leave Seacouver in a hurry. To Methos  
his journals were his life, they allowed him to remember things that  
otherwise would be forgotten and for him to lose them was like  
losing a part of himself. Methos thought back to one rainy day when  
Emily had been with him in England and he had told her what it meant  
to be 5000 years old.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

((flashback))  
Cambridge England 2008  
"What are you doing?" The bored twelve year old asked Methos who was  
copying something from an old book.

"Remembering," Methos stated absent-mindedly as he struggled with a  
particularly hard conjugation of a long dead language. Emily, who  
had recently discovered the impatience of youth, pulled the book  
away and looked at it intently. She had learnt through experience  
that Methos with a book was like a dog with a bone, and in order to  
get any attention it was easiest to separate one from the other.

"What language is this in?" Emily asked not recognising it from the  
four languages that she already spoke. "And what do these little  
pictures mean?" Methos flinched at Emily's apparent ignorance at  
what were Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"That is a phonetic representation of an ancient dialect and the  
pretty pictures are hieroglyphics." Methos sighed. "They tell the  
story of a nosy little girl who got caught prying in to other  
people's business."

Emily raised one eyebrow at Methos as if to ask 'do you think I was  
born yesterday' and the ancient eased a little and decided that  
maybe she needed to hear the truth. "It's a journal of mine from  
almost a thousand years ago. I need to copy it into a new book as  
this one is perishing. I've lived for 5 millennia Em, things that  
you take for granted are things that I have done and forgotten a  
thousand times over. I've had 68 wives and I can barely remember  
three of them by name. Keeping a journal helps me to think about all  
the things that I have done and copying them out helps me remember  
what those who died thousands of years ago meant to me. I guess my  
Journals help to keep me sane."

"Can I help?" Emily asked innocently, "I know I won't understand it  
but at least I can help you keep them intact."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Methos swallowed hard to stop the tears from falling as he thought  
of the severity of Emily's words. She had helped him keep more than  
those few books intact. Emily had been the glue that had helped him  
stay within the mortal world for so long without going mad. Emily,  
who had taught him how to see things anew, and who had allowed him  
to rediscover the magic that life had to offer as she saw things for  
the first time. She had been his first student since Byron and she  
had not only the same passion for life that Methos had found in the  
poet but also a sense of responsibility and decorum that had led to  
Byron's downfall.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily was almost at the hotel where Methos was staying before she  
felt the buzz, it was a feeling that still put her on edge despite  
her month as an immortal. Emily was aware that there were four  
possible immortals that could be on her tail, none of them too happy  
to see her, but Emily was prepared and made her way to a deserted  
alley to face her pursuer.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A little baby quickening ready  
for the taking." The tall man said as he drew his broad sword.  
"Randolf Scott at your service." He said with a small bow. "And  
this is my partner Jonathan Lee, he's just here to make sure that  
all is fair and if you do decide to take my head, he'll get yours  
while you are down. Either way we win."

"Two on one is against the rules." Emily said, "How is that fair."  
The two other immortals merely laughed and then Randolf lunged at  
Emily with a strong thrust only to over shoot and be caught off  
guard as Emily nicked his arm with her own short sword. The fight  
was a foregone conclusion after that, it was obvious to Emily and  
anyone else who was watching that the hunters relied on the  
innocence and inexperience of young immortals to win. In less than  
five minutes Randolf Scott's disembodied head lay on the floor and  
Lee had moved in to take revenge on his fellow hunter. Emily  
managed to strike a life threatening blow before the first mists of  
quickening rose around her. Jonathan Lee lay helplessly at her feet  
while she gathered the energy of his partner in crime. The first  
quickening was always the worst to deal with but Emily did not have  
time to let it settle before she had to take a second head. Lee was  
already on his feet and stood over her as she rose from her knees  
where she had been forced by the power of the quickening. Emily  
rolled out of the way of his sword as it came down in an arc and hit  
her head on a nearby concrete block. Emily felt the third immortal  
presence just as she lost consciousness and died.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Methos had seen the Quickening from the window of his hotel room as  
he read through the first of his journals. Morbid thoughts of an  
untrained immortal caught by two immortal hunters flashed through  
his mind as he grabbed his Ivanhoe and ran to the source of the  
electrical interference.

Methos saw the discarded sword as he turned in to the alley, Emily  
lay dead amongst the rubble, a strange immortal was bent over her  
with a deep cut down his side. It took only a second for the  
immortal to react to the ancient's presence and the battle was  
afoot. Methos was the clear winner from the outset, not only was he  
a better fighter and more experienced but he was also not injured.  
Usually the oldest immortal would not fight unless it was absolutely  
necessary but given the odds and the circumstances even someone as  
set in their ways as Methos would make an exception. The quickening  
was relatively small and showed the weakness of a hunter who only  
took the heads of young immortals. After the last embers of  
quickening had settled in his system Methos took in his surroundings  
and knew that he had to get out of there quickly.

Methos made his way to where Emily lay amongst the rubbish and blood  
of the battle scene and quickly gathered her lifeless body into his  
arms. Methos checked that her sword was clean and again hidden in  
her coat, then the ancient made his way back in the direction of his  
hotel and away from the scene of the crime as the sounds of sirens  
rang in the distance. The faint immortal buzz which came into  
sensor range was enough to put the already wary Methos on edge,  
Emily remained lifeless in his arms and both bodies in the alley  
were separated from their heads which left only one possibility,  
another immortal.

"Nash, she's in no state to fight you right now and I need to get  
her to safety. If you are half the honourable warrior they say you  
are then at least give us a sporting chance." Methos said without  
looking up from his position with Emily hunched over one shoulder.  
The ancient felt the weight shift as Connor grabbed the other side  
of Emily and got her to her feet.

"I'm not giving up just yet but there are a few questions that I  
wanted to ask and I think that maybe you might be able to give me  
the answers. First we need to get the girl out of here. I trust  
you are staying close by?"

"I'm at the Hilton." Methos said, still wary to trust the older  
Highlander. " By the way, I'm Michael Preston." Methos said,  
referring to the new persona that he had adopted in order to search  
for Emily.

"And she's your drunken niece?" Connor suggested. Methos smiled and  
nodded ***I like the way this guy thinks...maybe we'll become  
friends after all.***

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Much to the surprise of the 5000 year old Connor had left him and  
Emily at the hotel and said that he would be by later to get the  
answers that he wanted. "After all," the Scot had told him, "It's  
not like I don't have all the time in the world."

Methos had habitually gone about the after battle routine of  
cleaning Emily up and getting her comfortable while trying to kerb  
his overactive libido. It was hard enough to deal with the post-  
quickening sexual energy normally without having the subject of his  
fantasies alone and pliable in his bed. ***In times past the fact  
that she was unconscious and unwilling would not have stopped  
you.*** A small voice said from the other side of his conscience,  
Methos fought hard not to listen to the voice and instead settled in  
to the chair next to the bed to rest. ***MacLeod will be by in the  
morning and something tells me he'll be just as difficult to  
persuade as his younger kinsman.***

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Emily woke with a start, she was in unfamiliar surroundings and her  
head was throbbing. The new immortal slowly sat up and as she  
became accustomed to the darkness of the room she was aware that  
there was another person with her. A quick check of her new sixth  
sense told her it was another immortal. Before Emily could react to  
that particular realisation the room was bathed in light and she was  
able to focus on her captor. Methos. Emily's pulse had quickened  
and her breathing had become erratic when she had woken in a strange  
room. Now she found it speeding again as Methos swept her in to his  
arms and began to reassure her as he had done when she was small and  
she had woken from a nightmare. ***Isn't that what this is? A  
nightmare which I can't ever wake up from? I have to kill and die on  
a regular basis in order to survive, how is this anyway to live.***  
As if her could read her thoughts Methos was whispering endearments  
to her. The ancient immortal had seen many new immortals after  
their first death and after taking their first heads and knew the  
futility they felt. Slowly Emily's breathing and heart rate settled  
and the need to sleep overpowered her. Methos too was calmed and  
the pair settled onto the bed and fell asleep in each others arms.  
As dawn broke over the New York skyline the pair slept, blissfully  
unaware of the chaos that was unravelling in Seacouver.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

December 25th 2014 Seacouver.

Amanda had been planning Christmas with the best of intentions, she  
sincerely thought that Richie and Duncan would be better off  
together at such a difficult time. Unfortunately she had forgotten  
what Marx said about the road to hell and so found herself in the  
middle of a war of immortal proportions.

"What are you doing here?" Richie asked as Duncan walked through the  
door. "This is a family event and thanks to you two of the members  
are missing. I should think there are other places that you ought  
to be."

"Rich, Amanda invited me, besides, it is hardly my fault that Methos  
chose this time to go off around the world to do whatever it is that  
5000 year olds do. Emily is a big girl too, she'll come home when  
she's ready."

"She's not exactly an ordinary child, Emily won't ever grow up and  
she's not safe on her own. What if she come home a head shorter  
from finding an immortal who cheated." MacLeod paled as he thought  
of the pain he had gone through when Richie had died at the  
racetrack and suddenly understood how much Emily meant to the ex-  
street punk.

"Rich, I'm so sorry...She'll come home I know it and when she does  
we'll teach her all she needs to know about being immortal."  
Richie's face reddened further as his anger rose.

"You stay away from her. I know first hand what you do to your  
students, three times you tried to take my head, I won't let you do  
the same to Emily. I tried to tell you before, we don't want you  
here MacLeod..."

Richie's tirade was interrupted by the slamming of a door outside  
and the entrance of a rather frazzled looking Joe.

"What is this going to prove?" He asked to the two now speechless  
immortals. "If your so worried about Emily why aren't you out there  
looking for her? Did you know that there was two beheadings in New  
York last night? It so easily could have been Emily who lost her  
head and all you can do is fight about who's to blame for her  
leaving."

"Boys, Boys, Calm down...Let's just try to stay civil and enjoy  
Christmas." Amanda said stepping in. ***This is going to be a long  
day*** She thought as she finally got the three men to settle down  
with a bottle of Scotch. ***Maybe Methos had the right idea.***

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily woke from her peaceful sleep to find herself in the arms of  
the man that she loved. ***This must be a dream.*** Emily thought  
to herself as she turned slightly to get a better look at the enigma  
who shared her sleeping space. Emily's movement roused Methos from  
his sleep and without thought he shifted toward Emily and kissed her  
gently. ***Oh my G_d...*** Emily thought. ***If this is a dream I  
never want to wake up***. Methos was aware of the change in Emily's  
posture and on waking more he realised what he had done. ***Oh my  
G_d...She's going to kill me, if she doesn't take my head she'll  
certainly take my heart***. Both immortals moved away from each  
other as the gravity of the simple kiss weighed on their  
consciences, both opened their mouths to speak but were interrupted  
by the buzz of another immortal. Methos was at the door, sword in  
hand wearing only his boxers when Connor arrived. Warily Methos  
waited for Emily to pull on a borrowed shirt before allowing the  
Scot full access to the room.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

The scene that faced Connor as he walked in to the hotel room shared  
by the strange immortal couple was like something out of a comedy.  
The girl in the oversized and out of shape shirt and sleep tousled  
hair and the guy ready to defend her in only his boxer shorts.  
Connor would have laughed if he had not been there for a specific  
purpose. The Scot wanted to know why the pair were in town and what  
they planned to do, there was also the issue of whether or not he  
needed to fight the girl to avenge his kinsman's death. First he  
would invite them to breakfast, after all they were going to answer  
his questions, the least he could do was make sure they did it on a  
full stomach.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily walked in to the restaurant to find the two male immortals who  
had left her alone to get dressed. She was dressed modestly in the  
previous days jeans and a large stretched out jumper which had been  
borrowed from Methos, the time alone had done nothing to help her  
confusion. As far as Emily was concerned Methos had been affected  
by the quickening from the night before and had been half asleep.  
***What would a 5000 year old man see in me?***  
She thought to herself as she got to the table and was greeted by  
Methos and Connor.

"Good morning." Connor said, "Emily isn't it? Michael has just been  
filling me in on a few details about the pair of you. I have a few  
questions of my own though." Emily looked to Methos and he shrugged  
as if to say 'you are on your own'.

"Okay, we'll talk over breakfast and me and *Michael* will tell you  
all about it."

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Connor could barely believe the story that unfurled as the three  
immortals ate breakfast. Richie Ryan, the boy who had needed  
watching, had surprised them all by turning into a man who could  
survive alone. Emily was an enigma too, a girl of eighteen who  
fought like an immortal of over a thousand and who had an inner  
strength that defied logic. Then there was Michael Preston, or at  
least that was who he was in this incarnation, Adam Pierson had been  
someone whom Duncan had mentioned on various occasions, he too  
fought surprisingly well considering that he was only 60 years old,  
or so Connor thought. The idea of an immortal and Watcher family  
was like moving from the sublime to the ridiculous. Michael and  
Emily were extremely quiet except for telling the story and  
answering his questions, it was as if they were mortal enemies, or  
immortal enemies as the case may be. Connor realised that there was  
obviously some conflict between the pair and decided it was best to  
leave them to discuss it between themselves, he had only one further  
question.

"Why did you fight me if you knew who I was and were not after my  
head?" He queried and saw the questioning in Methos' eyes too.

"Simple. The great Connor MacLeod doesn't take just anybody as a  
student and I need a teacher. I may know how to fight, but I do not  
have the discipline to survive any length of time on my own. I need  
that strength and who better to give it?" Emily said. Methos'  
heart almost broke as he realised that Emily had not even considered  
him for the position, that was until she continued. "Richie  
wouldn't let Duncan take me on, and Amanda and Michael both have  
enough trouble dealing with their own problems. You are  
inconspicuous, you are skilled and you taught Duncan everything he  
knows. What do you say?"

"Okay, as long as you stick to my rules and my way of living I'll  
teach you."

With that Connor left them to flounder in the conversation neither  
of them wanted to have and went off to contact the cousin he had not  
heard from in over a decade.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Em...Look, about this morning..." Methos began as soon as he was  
sure Connor was out of earshot, "I want to explain..."

"No *Michael*, Don't. You were overpowered by the quickening and we  
were both half asleep. Let's just put it behind us and try to carry  
on if not for our own sake then for the sake of the family." Emily  
had to hide the tears in her voice as she was not expressing her  
true feelings, but deep down she knew this was for the best. Emily  
needed to concentrate on her education and that could not happen if  
she let herself get caught up in a childish crush.

"You're right." Methos told her. "The first rule of combat is never  
to engage with someone who might one day be your enemy. How could  
either of us ever think about taking the other's head?" There was a  
touch of sadness in his voice but the ancient was the king of  
guarded emotions. ***She might as well take my head, she already  
has my heart.*** Methos thought wistfully. The rest of breakfast  
was continued in silence but the subtle change that had occurred  
between the pair was irreparable. Christmas passed by almost  
unnoticed as the pair nursed their broken hearts and neither was  
willing to sacrifice the family that they loved in order to find  
love for themselves.

\------------------------------------------------------------------  
the end.

Next: Just a guy, Just a girl...the answer to where immortals came  
from, well at least the truth for one of them...


End file.
